Intermaris' Annual Rent Increase project group, which rents out around 17,000 homes in the Hoorn and Purmerend regions, invariably meets in February. Sending the rent increase letters is nothing short of a monster job and to ensure that all tenants are informed in April, it is important to start on time. “When the Social Rent Agreement agreed in 2018 that low-income and high-rent tenants can now apply for a rent reduction or freeze, we wanted to make sure our tenants were aware of this so that they could submit an application. In addition to using our regular communication channels for this purpose, such as our website, newsletter and social media, in a conversation with POM, we came up with the idea to combine the message about the possibility of reducing or freezing a rent with the rent increase letter and send it digitally via their system.”

Customer-focused by “if this, then that”

What makes the mail system attractive for sending the comprehensive rent increase letter is the ability to write to different tenant groups in a very specific and therefore customer-oriented way. Indeed, in POM's software, it is very easy to add “if this, then that” statements. This in turn makes it easy to send different customer groups their own letters. For example, tenants who Intermaris already knows on the basis of the rent that they are not entitled to a rent reduction or freeze will not receive a paragraph in the rent increase letter that refers to that option. “This way, we were able to send six different letters,” says rental specialist Siemone Sluimer, who, together with process expert Ger Tuijp, is also closely involved in the project. “People with a high rent, for example, had an extra paragraph about rent freezing and lowering and a link to our website. Once there, they were able to find out via a flow chart whether they are entitled to a rent reduction or freeze and then reached the application form. The requests then came to us via our mailbox.”

Efficient, sustainable and fast

Siemone is very pleased with the way we work. “You can see exactly whether the email has been received and whether it has been opened. If the message is not opened after three days, we will still send a letter by post. Previously, we did this with all rent increase letters and letters about billing service costs. That was all done manually. Besides taking us a lot of time, all that paper wasn't sustainable at all, of course.”

The response to the emails is also good, says Siemone. “When the first emails were sent and I shut down my computer in the afternoon, there were already two hundred requests for rent freezing in the mailbox. By the way, that's also an advantage: people usually respond more quickly via email. As a result, the chance that the application will remain in place is much smaller.”

Learning points

After the success of the first year, Intermaris also sent the rent increase letters via POM this year. “We learned a lot from the first time,” Ingeborg looks back. “For example, we had made the application for a rent reduction or freeze too complex. And the letters that we immediately sent by post, because we did not have an email address for these tenants, did not include a flow chart and an application form. To do that, they had to go to the website, but they often did not have the resources to do so. This year, we immediately attached an application form and a rent freeze check to their letter, so that tenants could also submit their application immediately without email.”

Another learning point of the first year: timely informing administrators and social aid organizations. “Last year, they suddenly all received requests for help from our tenants, even though they themselves weren't sure what was going on either. This year, we informed these groups well in advance about the scheme, its frameworks and where to find the most frequently asked questions and their answers.”

Cooperation with POM

Intermaris looks back on a pleasant cooperation with POM. “They contributed ideas about the texts, but also about the organization of the process in our system,” says Ingeborg. “I also like that our consultant is very easy to reach. You don't have to go through an entire battery of people before you get her on the line. This way, the contact runs very smoothly and you can switch quickly and easily.” Ger is also very pleased with the collaboration. “As a process expert, I am involved in the digitization of processes. What I really liked is that the consultant properly translated all our wishes to their technical staff. Everyone involved at Intermaris is very satisfied with how it all went. It was also quite exciting. As a housing association, we are certainly progressive, but we had never sent out a mailing like this and on such a scale. Customers are not used to receiving a lot of emails from us. Would we receive complaints? Phone calls? Were the email addresses all correct? Before that, some smart buttons were also added, such as 'I am not this renter'. The most important thing is that it has also worked. Nearly 1,500 tenants have already submitted an application, most of whom will actually now receive a rent freeze or reduction. We are so satisfied that we also sent the rent increase letters for the free sector and business premises via POM this year.”

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